Hardwood flooring on deck?

[Up to My Ears in Fiberglass]

Does anyone have any experience with using hardwood flooring as a boat deck? I'm considering a wood deck for the 1967 Larson 14' boat that I'm working on. I have enough 2.5" x 3/4" tongue and groove oak hardwood flooring left over from installing the floor in the house a few years ago to cover about half of the boat, so I'm tempted to use this in order to minimize costs.

I know it would be necessary to seal the underside and edges of the planks with (epoxy?). In houses, the hardwood is nailed to a 3/4" plywood subfloor. To minimize weight, I was considering using a 1/4" plywood "subdeck" covered with fiberglass cloth for strength, and coating the underside, tongue, and groove of each plank with epoxy as I laid the deck, so that epoxy, rather than nails, would be responsible for securing the deck to the underlying plywood. Any thoughts on this approach?


For a non-slip surface, I've thought of two options:

A.) applying a non-slip texturized clearcoat - I'm unsure if this would work because the hardwood flooring is prefinished with a baked on factory clearcoat. Would a second clearcoat adhere well to the pre-existing one? Would coarse-grit sanding be required first? Also, I don't know what the best clear texturizing agent would be. I've considered silica for this. Any thoughts?

B.) using caulk or rubber between the tongue and grooves - I don't know how structurally detrimental this would be - would the epoxy still be enough to hold it together? I have no clue what kind of product to use for this. Also, I don't know if the top of the planks (prefinished from factory) would require additional sealing? If so, should this be done (I'm assuming) before applying the rubber between planks (i.e. seal each plank, one at a time) OR should it be done after the deck is completely installed (i.e. seal top of planks, rubber, and everything all at once) - the latter seems that it would reduce or eliminate the non-slip property of the rubber. Clearly, this option is the less developed of the two


Some interesting (though more expensive) alternative options for wood decking are shown on this website. There's also some general information on wood that may be of interest:

http://www.worldpanel.com/FAQ.htm

Thanks for reading my long post; I look forward to everyone's comments!!

 

[AZSenza]

Re: Hardwood flooring on deck?

Yes, the hardwood soles look GREAT! Theres a fella up north of me that custom makes them from teak or teak with holly trim. I was going to do the same on my old 17" as far as the 1/4" ply as a base. I think it will look fine and outlast the boat...You might want to think about putting it on so you can get it back off if you ever need to replace the plywood (Stainless screws?)

 

[Ned L]

Re: Hardwood flooring on deck?

There are some things you could do to allow the use of your oak like that, but I think your installation method would cause you a lot of grief before long. Oak expands & contracts a LOT with changes in humidity, which would cause your installation to warp, cup, buckle, and tear itself free from the underlayment. This is why indoor installations allow the flooring to 'float', even traditional nailed floors move a LOT.
By 'deck' I am presuming you mean the cockpit sole. If this is the case there may be some creative things that could be done to allow the use of your oak with good results, though it would not be straight forward - we can talk about some ideas.
Also, 3/4 inch oak on top of 1/4 inch ply. would be awfully heavy for a 14' boat - overkill.

 

[wca_tim]

Re: Hardwood flooring on deck?

for nonskid you could check into the little plastic spheres that interlux sells. I think they're supposed to reractive index match most paint resins so might not show. Would have to ask them...

 

[Up to My Ears in Fiberglass]

Re: Hardwood flooring on deck?

Thanks AZSensa, I really like the idea of a removable solution - especially if I were to use something pricey like teak; the ability to easily reinstall the wood if repairs were needed would be great! It's also nice to know that someone else out there has thought of doing this with a small boat.

 

[Up to My Ears in Fiberglass]

Re: Hardwood flooring on deck?

Ned L, thanks a lot for your reply, you've brought up some great points!

Oak expands & contracts a LOT

I hadn't considered this, but you're absolutely right. I can imagine that epoxying this to plywood could cause a real mess. Thanks for saving me from a huge headache! I had thought of using oak (planks, not the hardwood flooring stuff) to replace the stringers for a strength advantage over the pine that was used by the factory. Your comment has me rethinking this as well. I'm now considering cedar for this purpose as it tends to standup well against water and insects. Though I realize that neither should ever come in contact with the stringers, somehow, mine were soaked and termite infested! How do you feel about cedar, or should I stick to the pine?

By 'deck' I am presuming you mean the cockpit sole..

Your presumption is correct. Sorry, as you may have gathered I'm new to boat construction and am still learning the correct terminology.

If this is the case there may be some creative things that could be done to allow the use of your oak with good results, though it would not be straight forward - we can talk about some ideas.

Absolutely, I would love to discuss any ideas that you have - I need all the help with this that I can get! One possibility that I had considered was leaving a gap between the planks of the sole so that air could easily get to the area underneath (terminology question: is this entire space, where the stringers are, the "bilge" or is the bilge the small box at the back of the boat where the water collects and drains when the drain plug is removed?) and allow any water to easily evaporate so that I can avoid this mess ever happening again! I've attached a picture of something like what I was thinking, though this uses teak. Do you think that I could use the oak, or maybe cedar (less expensive than teak) successfully for this purpose?

Also, 3/4 inch oak on top of 1/4 inch ply. would be awfully heavy for a 14' boat - overkill.

Yeah, I agree. I know that structurally, this is way overkill. I just didn't want to go to the trouble of planing down all those oak strips and didn't know how else to attach the oak to the boat than 1/4" ply.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Hardwood flooring on deck?

..... By 'deck' I am presuming you mean the cockpit sole. .....

Generally speaking, soles are found in interior rooms like a salon. In his 14 foot open runabout, the floor is exposed and uncovered making it a "deck" even though it includes the cockpit.

Of course, these are only generalizations, and depending on where you look there are different descriptions for "sole" and "deck". So far I find that "sole" is consistently used to describe the floor in an enclosed space of the boat, and also I have only found the reference of "sole" when describing yachts. IE My Cuddy Cabin does not have a sole anywhere. Although I think you could argue the point that the cuddy has a sole, and the rest is a deck.

But use either one, and I will know what you mean.

 

[halas]

Re: Hardwood flooring on deck?

There are some things you could do to allow the use of your oak like that, but I think your installation method would cause you a lot of grief before long. Oak expands & contracts a LOT with changes in humidity, which would cause your installation to warp, cup, buckle, and tear itself free from the underlayment. This is why indoor installations allow the flooring to 'float', even traditional nailed floors move a LOT.
By 'deck' I am presuming you mean the cockpit sole. If this is the case there may be some creative things that could be done to allow the use of your oak with good results, though it would not be straight forward - we can talk about some ideas.
Also, 3/4 inch oak on top of 1/4 inch ply. would be awfully heavy for a 14' boat - overkill.

I agree 100%

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Hardwood flooring on deck?

Hello ecumd2b..

I know why you would want to spruce up your boat with some leftover from your home..but..why ?

I really dont see the benefit of a screw/glue hardwood on your sole/deck...and a t&g fit is not really marine way of decking m8..

Ive personally never done it..im sure it has been done..

YD.

 

[redfury]

Re: Hardwood flooring on deck?

Hardwood flooring guy here! Hi!

You'll be replacing that oak before you know it. The aluminum oxide finish on it would have to have a chemical etch most likely if you want to coat it with anything and get adhesion...unless you have one of the prefinished floors that can be lightly sanded.

Personally, I wouldn't bother using hardwood flooring, particularly the popular species used in any kind of out door setting.

Fir would be a good choice since it is straight grained, and is decent for rot resistance ( used as porch flooring for a hundred years! ) The straightness of the grain is perfect for stringer work as it won't change shape as easily as dimensional wood with a definitive "grain pattern" like oak.

Teak, Ipe, and Ironwood are great outside choices, though the latter 2 are very dense/heavy. Any exotic species from the Amazon are going to be good choices. They all have great resistance to rot and insect infestations naturally. An expensive but REALLY cool wood choice would be Paduk. It finishes RED as the day is long, and slowly changes to a reddish brown color.

That all being said, oak will get nasty on you quick if it gets moisture. I've got wood floor samples out side...the oak always warps. Brazillian Cherrywood stays straight...you can do the math.

 

[Ned L]

Re: Hardwood flooring on deck?

Can we leave it with what 'redfury' said, or are you still interested? Thinking about it over the weekend, & pretty much any ideas that would allow you to use your oak would end up being more work than it is worth. (& if what you ahve is red oak it is not rot resitant anyway)..... Sorry